I would like to thank Mr. Sharples, the owner of MKS Wealth Management for permitting us to publish his newsletter as a blog. Mr. Sharples serves on Higher Rock Education's Board of Advisors. He has served my family for the past decade. I really enjoy his perspective. His insights are always valuable. Most importantly, Mike Sharples is a great friend. While we differ a bit on our view of 2017, I thought it would be worthwhile to share his newsletter. More

What show has entertained Americans for 146 years? The Ringling Bros. and Barnum Bailey circus. Approximately 10 million attend the circus annually according to a New York Times article. For generations, the circus has rolled into towns, pitched their huge tents and dazzled audiences with flying acrobats, amusing clowns, freak shows, and other incredible feats. I remember trapeze artists performing summersaults high above the ground, jugglers of fire, men being shot across the arena More

Inflation has not been a policy concern since the second half of 1991, the last time the consumer price index increased more than 5 percent. It has been thirty-five years since the rate was over 10 percent. In fact, recently deflation has been more of a concern, when in 2010, prices increased less than 1 percent. The graph below is provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. More

Amazon has two-hour delivery and great prices. 2016 was the first year that on-line sales will probably outpace in-store sales. They did over the Black Friday weekend according to an article in Fortune. UPS and USPS trucks were delivering on our street daily throughout the Holidays. Macy's announced on January 4th that they are closing 68 more stores and laying off 10,000 employees in the United States. For the past decade, More